AlixPartners recently conducted its annual anticorruption surveywhichlooked at the impact corruption has on corporate and economic growth. In particular, we explored the ways companies are identifying corruption risk and the steps they're taking to deal with the risks.

Last month, the DOJ's Leslie Caldwell, described the fight against corruption as “a necessary enforcement action to protect our own national security interests and the ability of our U.S. companies to compete on a global scale.” These comments not only apply to FCPA enforcement but also highlight the long-recognized notion that corruption can threaten peace and security. Today, the threat posed by corruption to security is especially relevant to Africa and the Middle East.

One of the ongoing definitional challenges facing compliance professionals worldwide is whether and under what circumstances traditional authorities, such as aboriginal ‘‘band’’ or ‘‘tribal’’ leaders, qualify as ‘‘foreign officials’’ under the FCPA. These traditional leaders, after all, routinely exercise considerable influence over business matters.

We've been talking for years here at the FCPA Blog about the dangers of uneven anti-bribery enforcement among capital-exporting nations. I've written about what happens when some capital-exporter enforce a bribery prohibition while some do not; in particular, when the United States enforces and China does not. Not only can it put Chinese companies at a competitive advantage, but it will tend to promote the dominance of Chinese firms, and its government, in some of the more corruption-prone markets, particularly Africa.

Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira (Image courtesy of Vale)Brazilian miner Vale said it is considering legal options after the government of Guinea announced Friday the official revocation of mining licenses for iron ore concessions held by a joint venture between Vale and BSG Resources.

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group said in an SEC filing Wednesday the SEC and DOJ are investigating whether it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with an investment from a sovereign wealth fund.

Frederic Cilins, 51, a French citizen, pleaded guilty Monday in the Southern District of New York to obstructing a federal criminal investigation into whether a mining company paid bribes to win mining rights in the Republic of Guinea.

Kansas-based Layne Christensen Company said last week it has increased its reserve for a potential FCPA settlement from $4.8 million to $10.4 million. That amount, the company said, represents the low end of the range for a possible settlement, which could also reach $16 million.